''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' (abbreviated ''RHOC'') is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

series that premiered on Bravo on March 21, 2006. It has aired sixteen seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...

. The cast of the upcoming season will consist of

Tamra Judge ''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' (abbreviated ''RHOC'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 21, 2006. It has aired sixteen seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several wo ...

Heather Dubrow Heather Paige Dubrow (née Kent; born January 5, 1969) is an American actress and television personality. Heather portrayed Lydia DeLucca in the television series '' That's Life'' in 2000 and starred on the reality television series ''The Real H ...

, Shannon Storms Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson;

Taylor Armstrong Taylor Armstrong (born Shana Lynette Hughes; June 10, 1971) is an American television personality. She is known as an original cast member of the Bravo reality series, '' The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills''. In 2022, it was announced that sh ...

will join in a "friend of" capacity. The show's success has led for the development of ''

The Real Housewives ''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...

'' franchise and similar spin-off series based in numerous states across the United States, as well as numerous installments internationally. The success of the show has resulted in two spin-offs; '' Date My Ex: Jo & Slade'' and ''

Tamra's OC Wedding ''Tamra's OC Wedding'' is an American reality documentary television series on Bravo that debut on September 2, 2013. The three-part miniseries chronicles the weeks prior to the wedding of Tamra Barney and Eddie Judge as well as the wedding its ...

''.

Overview and casting

Seasons 1–3

In April 2005, ''The Real Housewives'' was ordered by American television network Bravo. The show’s working title was “Behind The Gates,” and was intended to follow a documentary format. It was renamed as ''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' in January 2006. Show creator Scott Dunlop said that it was originally planned to be set in a single

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...

Coto de Caza, California Coto de Caza (Spanish for "Hunting Reserve") is a census-designated place (CDP) and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California. The population was 14,799 at the 2017 census. The CDP is a suburban planned community of about 4,000 ...

. The show was inspired by scripted soap operas ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a t ...

'' and '' Peyton Place'', and would document the lives of upper-class women who "lead glamorous lives in a Southern California gated community where the average home has a $1.6 million price tag and residents include CEOs and retired professional athletes." The first season premiered on March 21, 2006, and starred Kimberly Bryant, Jo De La Rosa,

Vicki Gunvalson Victoria Gunvalson (née Steinmetz; formerly Wolfsmith) is an American reality television personality and businesswoman best known for a starring role as a housewife in the Bravo reality television series ''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' ...

Jeana Keough Jeana Ellen Keough (née Myers; formerly Tomasino; born September 18, 1955) is an American television personality, realtor, actress, and model. Keough graduated from Whitnall High School located in Greenfield, Wisconsin in 1972. When she was yo ...

and Lauri Peterson (then Waring). Bryant left after the first season. Tammy Knickerbocker joined the cast for the second season which premiered on January 16, 2007. Bryant appeared as a guest. After the second season, De La Rosa exited the series as a regular cast member. The third season premiered on November 6, 2007, which featured

(then Barney) as the latest housewife, while Quinn Fry joined the cast in the sixth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa returned as guests. Knickerbocker and Fry left the main cast after the third season.

Seasons 4–8

Gretchen Rossi was introduced in the fourth season premiere on November 25, 2008. Peterson made her final appearance as a main cast member in the third episode. While Lynne Curtin joined the cast in the fourth episode. Bryant and De La Rosa made their final guest appearance during the season finale. While Knickerbocker returned as a guest. Keough's final season as a full-time cast member, season five premiered on November 5, 2009. After Keough left the show as a full-time cast member, Alexis Bellino was added to the main cast. Fry, Knickerbocker and Peterson returned as a guest. Curtin left after the fifth season. The sixth season which premiered on March 6, 2011, introduced Peggy Tanous as the newest housewife and friend of the housewives Fernanda Rocha. Keough returned in a friend of the housewives status, while Curtin, Fry, and Knickerbocker appeared as guests.

joined the cast in the seventh season which premiered on February 7, 2012. Keough and Tanous appeared as a guest, while Sarah Winchester was featured as a friend of the housewives. On April 1, 2013, the eighth season premiered and the cast was joined by Lydia McLaughlin. Peterson also appeared as a friend of the housewives in the eighth season. Bellino, McLaughlin, Rossi and Peterson departed after the season.

Seasons 9–13

The ninth season premiered on April 14, 2014, and introduced Shannon Storms Beador and Lizzie Rovsek as the new housewives. While Danielle Gregorio joined as friend of the housewives. The tenth season which premiered on June 8, 2015, saw Rovsek as a friend of the housewives, and Meghan King joining the cast. Curtin, Keough and Knickerbocker made guest appearances in the season. The eleventh season premiered on June 20, 2016. It featured Kelly Leventhal (then Dodd) joining the cast and Keough making a guest appearance. Dubrow exited the series after the season. McLaughlin returned for the show's twelfth season which premiered on July 10, 2017. Peggy Sulahian joined as the latest housewife, while Keough, Rossi and Rovsek made guest appearances. After the season concluded, King Edmonds, McLaughlin and Sulahian left the show. Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson joined the cast for the thirteenth season, which premiered on July 16, 2018.

Seasons 14–present

The fourteenth season premiered on August 6, 2019. Braunwyn Windham-Burke joined as a cast member, while Gunvalson was demoted to a "friend of the housewives" status. King and Bellino both appeared in a guest capacity. Gunvalson and Judge both left the series in January 2020. Filming for the show was paused between March and July 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in confir ...

. The fifteenth season premiered on October 14, 2020, with Elizabeth Lyn Vargas joining the cast. Keough served as a narrator in the opening of the season premiere. Rovsek appeared as a guest in the fifth episode. The season served as the final season for Dodd, Windham-Burke and Vargas. The sixteenth season premiered on December 1, 2021, with Beador, Kirschenheiter and Simpson returning, along with former housewife Dubrow, new housewives Jen Armstrong and Noella Bergener joining the main cast; Nicole James appeared as a friend of the housewives, departing halfway through the season. Keough and Rovsek also had guest appearances during the season. The reunion was taped on March 10, 2022. Following the conclusion of the sixteenth season, Armstrong and Bergener announced their exits from the show on July 8, 2022. On July 20 of the same year, Judge announced her return to the franchise. The following month, it was announced former ''

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

'' star

had joined the cast as a friend of the housewives. In October 2022, Gunvalson was announced to appear in a guest capacity.

Timeline

Episodes

Broadcast history

''The Real Housewives of Orange County'' airs regularly on Bravo in the United States; most episodes are approximately forty-two minutes in length, and are broadcast in

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

and high definition. Since its premiere, the series has alternated airing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and has been frequently shifted between the 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 PM timeslots.

Spin-offs

'' Date My Ex: Jo & Slade'' became the first spin-off from ''The Real Housewives of Orange County''; the

dating game show Dating game shows are game shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules. Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the ...

documented De La Rosa as she began dating after moving to Los Angeles, where potential suitors were regularly surveyed by Smiley. It premiered on June 30, 2008, and ended on September 8, 2008, after broadcasting nine episodes during its first and only season. After becoming engaged to Judge in February 2013, Barney was commissioned to star in the three-part spin-off special ''

''. It highlighted the preparations for their nuptials and was broadcast from September 2, 2013, until September 16, 2013.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Housewives of Orange County, The 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series 2020s American reality television series 2006 American television series debuts Bravo (American TV network) original programming English-language television shows Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows set in Orange County, California Television shows filmed in California